I was excited to receive a copy of Raising God’s Girl: Empowering Parents to Raise Daughters with Conviction, Confidence & Courage. You see, I have been blessed with three amazing daughters. My oldest is 22, my second is 17, and my youngest is 14, so, needless to say, I am in a challenging stage of life. Well, no matter what stage you are in you may say that about yourself as well! To be quite honest, I have been through enough different stages in raising my girls, that I understand that each one has its own unique and difficult facets.

I think the thing that has been the most difficult for me as a parent has been the fact that you can’t parent your number 2 child based on how you parented your number 1 child; and vice versa. Then you throw number 3 in the mix, and you may be confused and challenged to say the least. I have said more than once that parenting is the most difficult jobs I have ever done, and I stand by that. I know that without God, it would have been even more difficult.

As a woman that grew up with all brothers and lots of boy cousins, I can honestly say that when I had my daughters, I was nervous about my ability to parent these wonderful treasures from God. You would think that being a female would have set my mind at ease, but it didn’t. I relied on the strength that can only come from God to fill me with wisdom every step of the way.

Raising God’s Girl is an amazing book full of helpful advice and practical steps in parenting girls. I have to say that I particularly enjoyed the sample conversations complete with expected outcomes for each scenario. I found it very helpful and reassuring. I think that the great thing about a book like this is that you can find it helpful for any stage in your life. I am so thankful for that!

This book is broken up into two sections that each include four chapters.

Section 1: “Let’s Talk”

In this section you will hear helpful advice on cherishing, encouraging, and enjoying your daughter. I know it seems like it would go without saying, but life has a way of throwing so many things on your plate that you may forget to make sure she knows just how much she is loved. This section also talks about the importance of a father’s love and how to protect her. I really enjoyed the chapter on protecting your daughter. You see I find parenting to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and to be quite honest, a lot of times I beat myself up over what I could have, should have, would have – or wish I wouldn’t have done! I found this chapter encouraging because it really backed up what my husband and I are already doing!

Section 2:  “God Interrupts”

In this section, the Grahams dove right into the nitty gritty, and did a great job of helping us see how to help our daughters get through some of the harder things in life. This section discusses walking through disappointments and pain, developing true and meaningful friendships, learning how to truly love, and then preparing and launching our girls. I feel that these four chapters are right where I’m at these days. I used to think it was hard to have all babies and toddlers, but I can now say that each age has its own challenges, and you have to take it one day at a time. Make sure you don’t wish away any stage of your daughter’s life. Enjoy each moment and make memories with her that will last a lifetime.

I really loved this book. As you read through the pages you will be pointed towards Christ at every turn.  This book is full of not only encouragement, but also instruction, and I am confident that whether you are the mother of one daughter or fourteen daughters you will enjoy this read! Take your time as you read this book and let the words of truth contained within soak into your soul. My goal has always been to teach and train my daughters how to be a fully functioning adult. To be able to build relationships, hold a job, be a person of character, and live for Christ in such a way that it will make a difference in the world around them. This book will definitely help you with that!

—Product review by Barbette Yingst, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2016